Dear Colleagues,
As we transition into the third week of classes, I hope your semester is off to a great start. It's been a pleasure to welcome back our students and faculty over the past few weeks as our campus returns to a familiar, busy tempo of classes and activities.
I extend my sincerest appreciation to you for your exceptional efforts over the summer in preparation for this academic year. Our relatively remarkable start to a semester with record-high enrollment demonstrates your commitment to our students, especially your efforts to organize additional courses, implement last-minute changes, and collaborate on solutions.
In August, I had the pleasure of meeting many of our newest faculty who recently joined our academic community. We welcomed 54 tenure-track and 70 non-tenure-track faculty colleagues, including research and clinical faculty, lecturers, and Professors of Practice. We also welcomed four new academic leaders, including one dean and three department chairs. In preparation for the semester, I also spent a day with the university’s academic leaders during our annual academic retreat to discuss opportunities and challenges that impact faculty work. In addition to various information updates, the group participated in work sessions related to the anticipated reviews of the core curriculum and the Faculty Handbook.
At the June meeting of the AU Senate, our Strategic Planning co-chairs, Dr. Kerry Inger and Dr. Hari Narayanan provided a progress update and shared our draft goals. Since then, the Executive Committee, Steering Committee, deans, and President Roberts worked to elaborate, refine, and finalize these elements. In its current form, Auburn’s comprehensive strategic plan is structured around five primary goals yielding a detailed framework of 25 sub-goals, some 85 action items, and more than 80 key performance indicators. One or more senior leaders will drive each of the five major goals. This Friday (Sept. 6), President Roberts will present the AU Strategic Plan to the Board of Trustees for their consideration and endorsement. If approved, this Strategic Plan will be shared at the Sept.
17 Senate Meeting.
We continue to provide additional resources that support faculty research and scholarship, such as the new Institutional Review Board (IRB) module within Endeavor, our digital suite for research administration. This module establishes new benchmarks for accrediting our human research protection program and streamlines protocol access for faculty through readily available downloadable forms. It sets forth criteria for faculty-led mentorship as Principal Investigators for student IRB submissions and aligns with the protocols of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and Institutional Biosafety Committee. For further details, please visit the ‘What’s New’ section on the
IRB website.
Also, our faculty and students continue to connect with various communities across our state, ensuring our influence remains impactful and enduring. Two recent examples of such work include our Rural Medicine Program and the Woodland Wonders Pre-K Program. Last month, at the annual Matriculation Ceremony for the Rural Medicine Program, ten new students were inducted into the joint program between the College of Sciences and Mathematics and the Heersink School of Medicine at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (UAB). In this five-year program, students first complete a year of coursework on our campus before attending medical school at UAB. The overarching goal is to prepare our students to provide healthcare in our state's areas of greatest need, particularly in small towns and rural
communities.
I am delighted to announce that the Woodland Wonders Pre-K Program, managed by the Kreher Preserve & Nature Center within the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment, has been awarded the prestigious Alabama First Class Pre-K grant and certification. This recognition establishes our program as Alabama’s first “nature preschool,” setting a new benchmark for excellence in nature-based early childhood education. This achievement benefits our local community and positively impacts the entire state. Congratulations to our dedicated colleagues and students for their remarkable accomplishments.
Next week, my office will host our annual Promotion and Tenure Reception for those faculty awarded promotion and/or tenure during the last academic year. All faculty are invited to attend the reception next Thursday, Sept. 12, from 3 p.m. – 5 p.m. CST in the ACLC (remarks begin at 4 p.m.). Also, as a reminder, the deadline to submit nominations for this year's annual Faculty Awards is Friday, Sept. 20, at 4:45 p.m.
Finally, Auburn was honored with the No. 1 national ranking for having the "happiest students" by The Princeton Review last week. While we don't actively pursue rankings, this recognition is certainly a source of pride for us all. We know one of the reasons our students choose Auburn is our reputation for educating future leaders and the numerous opportunities for faculty engagement. Auburn is a unique campus, and much of this distinction is due to the dedication and hard work each of you contributes daily. |
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